Dawn of the Dead (Zack Snyder, 2004)
Lean and mean and unpretentious (perhaps to a fault), and, like most “serious” horror these days, more gory than scary. Romero in ‘79 could only dream about Snyder’s CGI-enhanced mayhem–like when a speeding truck plows through a group of zombies, knocking each flat with a smear of blood and a sickening thud. I need to rewatch the reputedly deeper original (which I haven’t seen since high school and which I see is out on a spiffy new dvd), but about all the subtext this new version can manage is its slasher-movie-like relish in the grisly deaths of the two sexually active characters, one in the only act of violence in the movie that truly disturbed me. Still, worth it for the terrific opening sequence (which might have had more impact on me if it weren’t spoiled in the trailer), and the satisfyingly menacing opening and closing credits. 66
